Welcome to Madison Square Wellness Center.
The converted New Jersey garage, just across the river from the world’s most famous arena, is more than just a home gym. It’s a sanctuary where New York Knicks fan and high school basketball star Johnny Jackson continues to author one of basketball’s great comeback stories.
“It’s a place where you can escape and continue to focus on what’s the most important thing, which is your health,” George Oliphant, host of NBC’s “George to the Rescue” told the 18-year-old Jackson, who had recently been declared cancer-free after being diagnosed with Stage 4B Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The diagnosis in August of 2024 put Jackson’s senior season with the Ridgewood High School varsity basketball team in jeopardy.
“I kind of looked at it in the beginning like it was almost just another challenge, like another basketball game to me, just in a more challenging and different way,” he said. “Cancer is kind of like a rival to me, someone I really want to beat who I don’t like.”
Jackson was determined to play in the season-opening game for Ridgewood on Dec. 19, just three days after he received a chemotherapy treatment.
He put on his No. 4 jersey, slipping it over the port in his chest for treatment, and went on to score 30 points while leading Ridgewood to victory.
“My surgeon said you can totally play with a port in your chest, but you playing or not kind of just comes down to if you feel good or not,” Jackson said. “It just became like, alright, I want to play. I want to play the whole season.”
He did just that. Despite enduring a total of 12 chemo sessions, Jackson played in every game that season, setting the school’s all-time scoring record and guiding his team to a third section championship in four years.
“The fact that he’s doing what he’s doing as awful as he feels,” said his mom Lynsey, “I say it all the time, it’s a miracle.”
Brunson: ‘We’re all inspired by your story’
It was a miracle that captured the attention of “George to the Rescue” and the Garden of Dreams Foundation, who gave Jackson an unforgettable experience at Madison Square Garden in March.
He received a direct invite from the team’s star point guard, and Jackson’s favorite player, Jalen Brunson.
“I know you’ve been going through treatment but also still killing it out there,” Brunson said in a video message. “You’ve got a lot of respect from us, and we’re all inspired by your story. Just wanted to invite you to a game here at the Garden. I can’t wait to see you. Go Knicks.”
Brunson met with Jackson and his family before the game.
“It was super cool to meet Brunson,” Jackson said. “For him to be the one inviting me up to the game and then getting to meet him there, just being able to talk to a role model of mine meant everything for me.”
Jackson was introduced to nearly every player on the team and sat courtside for the game with his parents and sister. After the game, Knicks All Star Karl-Anthony Towns gave Jackson his game-worn sneakers.
Those sneakers now hang in a frame in Jackson’s former garage and current wellness center that was transformed by “George to the Rescue,” which specializes in renovating homes for those in need.
“The thing about cancer is it’s not just the person who has it that is fighting it, it’s the entire family is fighting cancer,” Oliphant said. “Johnny was never in this battle by himself, his parents, his sister, his entire team, this entire town was behind him. So, this studio right here, this wellness studio, is not just for Johnny to get strong again, it’s for the whole Jackson family to get strong again.”
‘The kindest thing anyone has ever done’
The garage previously was an empty space, featuring oil-stained floors, cinder block walls and a leaky ceiling.
“The new space literally looks like a room from the Four Seasons hotel,” said Jackson’s father Joe.
The transformation replaced the garage door with a wall of windows, installed a slotted roof for a spa-like ambiance, and added workout equipment, a massage chair and other spa-like amenities.
“Wellness studios have a purpose,” said designer Julie Kantrowitz of JK Interior Living. “And the purpose is to really get that mind, body and spirit connection. Every single amenity in there is dedicated toward their health overall.”
It gave Jackson a gym, a hangout, and a space where he can watch the Knicks make a run toward the 2025 NBA Finals.
“Obviously, I went through such a rough patch in my life, but that kind of opens up the doors for people to just do really kind things,” Jackson said. “This especially is probably the kindest thing anyone has ever done.”
A high school basketball star is battling more than just his opponents on the court. In 2024, senior Johnny Jackson was diagnosed with cancer. When many people thought the news would sideline him for the season, he simply refused to back down. NBC New York’s Bruce Beck reports.
